Dallas Stars Blog

Morning skate _ Edmonton _ Reilly Smith to make NHL debut

Sheldon Souray was taping up a stick and standing near Reilly Smith as he was answering questions about making his NHL debut tonight against the Edmonton Oilers, when the veteran defender decided to chirp into the conversation.

“He was better today than he was yesterday, that’s for sure,” Souray joked. “Noticeably better.”

Souray then was asked what was it like when he played his first game.

“Fun,” he said. “It’s a game, don’t make that big a deal about it.”

It is a big deal for Smith, who was playing hockey for the Miami Redhawks last week and will be stepping into an intense playoff situation tonight. The 69th overall pick in the 2009 entry draft, Smith signed a contract to go straight to the NHL on Saturday, and that is a rare thing for this team.

While Austin Smith and Jack Campbell and Alex Chiasson are starting their careers in the AHL, Stars GM Joe Nieuwendyk saw something special in this 20-year-old, something that said he could play immediately in the NHL and help the Stars.

“I have watched him play, and I think he’s ready, and the scouts have watched him play, and they think he’s ready,” Nieuwendyk said of Reilly Smith. “We’re confident this is the right move.”

Nieuwendyk came straight out of Cornell in 1987 and played the last nine regular season games with the Calgary Falmes. He scored five goals and added an assist. That’s certainly pushing this decision.

Smith said he’s excited about the opportunity, and that he is humbled by the faith of the organization. His mother and father are flying in from Ontario for the game.

“I’m just trying to get my feet wet, try to bring as much energy as I can,” Smith said. “Try not to turn the puck over too much and get it deep. Just try to limit my speed and limit turnovers.”

Getting Smith in against a young, fast Oilers team could be a good move.

“If we and L.A. or San Jose were playing, that’s a tough game to put a young kid in,” Stars coach Glen Gulutzan said. “With the Oilers’ speed and their youth and their skill, I think we wanted to get a little bit of youth and skill in here too, and get his feet wet. So we thought it was a good game for him.”

Smith knows Oilers forward Ryan Jones, who also played at Miami, and he grew up with Sam Gagner in Ontario.

“That’s a good thing, I think,” Smith said. “Some familiar faces, that should help.”

Asked if he was nervous, he said. “It’s not too bad right now, but it will probably kick in around the national anthem. We’ll just try to keep it even keel and see how it goes.”

The Stars will start him on the fourth line, with lines looking like this:

“I think we just start him and see how he goes, let him get the jitters out and then let the game dictate how you use him and let his play dictate how you use him,” Gulutzan said. “We have no big visions of grandeur. We want to get him in, get him accustomed and see how he goes.”

Eric Nystrom (leg), Radek Dvorak (ankle) and Mark Fistric (abdominal strain) are out for the Stars, who will start Kari Lehtonen in goal and play these defense pairs: